The soul may leave the body when:
- Death occurs
- The person is asleep, so the soul returns before waking
- The individual is injured or ill and their life is at stake
- The silver cord some people believe connects the body to the soul is permanently severed
You and I may have different beliefs over what happens when someone dies. Some believe that when the body dies, that’s it. Others believe that the soul departs the body, bound either for another life or for the afterlife.
I decided to research this topic to see if I could find out how the soul leaves the body – assuming there is one. I discovered some fascinating information on my journey.
I am going to share what I discovered with you here. While nothing is 100% certain until you or I pass on, there is a lot to learn from religion and modern beliefs.
The Soul Leaves the Body Upon Death
This refers to the death of the body. While different religions and individuals have different beliefs, it is commonly thought that the soul vacates the physical body at the moment of death. I’ll look at some of the religious beliefs in a moment.
There are many stories of beliefs surrounding a silver cord that connects the soul to the body it inhabits.
When you sleep, you are supposedly able to leave your body. The silver cord means that you stay connected to your body, and so cannot die.
Does this mean that dreams while sleeping are actually memories of experiences of the soul rather than our minds processing the events of the day? It’s interesting to ponder, certainly.
Some believe that journeys are made to the afterlife, where you can see those who have passed before you.
I have had such an experience, and while you may not believe it, I know what happened and it is still clear to me today, over 20 years after it occurred. I have never had another ‘dream’ like this one. Dreams usually fade within minutes of me waking up.
My mom died when I was 11. Several years later, I was struggling to cope with the aftermath of such a loss. I had forgotten what she smelt like – her perfume and the skin products she wore. It was a unique mix everyone has. I’m sure you can identify with that.
I visited her in a ‘dream’ – although I know it was no such thing.
I found myself in a beautiful garden. Tall buildings with pillars and steps outside rose up and carried on going. I couldn’t see the top.
And suddenly there she was, my mom, dressed in blue robes and looking healthy and happy, standing in front of a fountain.
I won’t go into detail about what happened. However, I will say that I woke up with a start, my eyes streaming tears, and I could smell her on my clothes. Imagine hugging someone – you can still feel their presence when you let go, can’t you?
I could feel that too.
Another odd thing is that my mom and I sat on a stone bench together and talked, but neither of us spoke out loud. I only wish I could remember what she told me. I have always thought I would remember when the time was right.
There were other people around us, too. And I had the strangest feeling – absolutely certain – that some of the people there were like me. They were visiting and would soon return to their bodies, drawn back by that silver cord.
So, it is only when the silver cord is severed that bodily death occurs. At this point, the soul leaves for the afterlife. Until that point, the soul can vacate the body but return to it using the cord as a way back.
The Soul is Infinite
The more I read, the more I realized that most religions and people who believe in the soul say that it goes on forever. You might live several different lifetimes, even though you may not remember any previous ones.
Some people believe that when your body dies and your soul leaves, you go to the afterlife, and you then remember all your lives. You and I cannot be sure of this until it happens, of course. It’s also impossible to know how long you might spend back ‘over there’ before returning in another body.
Many of us have a fascination with how the soul exists within the body and how it might depart when the time comes. Life experience and age may contribute to how an individual may feel about this.
Different Religions Have Different Beliefs
Many Christians believe that the soul departs from the body and enters a state of sleep when the body dies. The soul then stays in this suspended form until God reunites the soul with the body it previously left.
However, beliefs can differ between one area of Christianity and another. Some also believe that only those who believe in Christ shall experience this return to the body. I found no explanation for what may happen to other people.
Other religions and belief systems have different opinions on what happens when the soul leaves the body too. For example, Hinduism suggests that the soul transfers to a non-physical body known as the linga sarira.
When this occurs, the identity of the individual is confirmed by two beings sent from God. Once this is completed, the soul goes back home to await their funeral. This is followed by reincarnation – something that Hindus believe in.
Buddhism is not a religion as there is no God at the center of this faith. However, many people think it is, and for our purposes here, it does not matter either way. My research revealed that Buddhists support the idea of karma, and this connects to what happens when the soul leaves the body.
Buddhists believe that this only occurs once everything has been completed for that life. When the tasks for that lifetime have been finished, the soul leaves the body. The karma must be fulfilled before this can occur.
People Who Have Died and Returned Reveal More
It is easy to find stories told by those who have medically died and returned.
These individuals sometimes have near-death experiences while they were officially ‘dead’ and so should not have been aware of anything going on around them.
I read a lot of these cases and in many instances, people talked about suddenly being aware they were outside their body. A common description mentioned the feeling of looking down on the body from above.
However, I noticed that most people did not say how they left their body – only that they were suddenly outside it.
I couldn’t find any instance where someone talked about getting up and stepping out of their body, for example. No information ever came up about how the soul departed.
Many of these stories were from individuals who said they were watching what was happening from above. Their vantage point was from the corner of the room up by the ceiling, for example. If the individual was outdoors, they were higher than everyone else who was there (if the person was not alone).
This supports the idea that the soul rises from the body. This can happen with the cord intact, and the person will survive whatever has happened to them. The death of the body determines when the cord is cut.
It seemed there was no conscious decision for the soul to leave the body in these circumstances. It just happened.
The difference is in the awareness of suddenly being outside the body. When I had that ‘dream’ about my mom, I had no idea how I got there. When I suddenly woke with a start, I did feel as if I had just ‘got back’ though – strange!
Of course, in these instances, the individuals concerned came back into the physical form. Since death didn’t happen – at least not permanent death – that silver cord I mentioned earlier in this article did not become severed.
I guess we can only know for sure what happens when the time comes to depart the body for the final time in this lifetime.
Was A Soul Rising Up Caught on Camera?
I thought I would end with this fascinating piece of potential evidence that supports the idea that the soul rises out of the body. My research into the topic led me to a YouTube video that shows the photo.
A fatal road accident occurred in 2016. Someone on the opposite side of the road snapped a photo of the aftermath. That photo seemed to catch a white figure appearing above the scene.
I cannot be certain whether it is genuine or shows what it appears to show. However, it does make you think, doesn’t it?
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/science/death/The-fate-of-the-soul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj5F7MbenjY
https://www.smithfamilycares.com/blog-posts/2014/when-the-soul-leaves-the-body–reacting-to-a-sudde
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/qas/when-person-dies-where-does-his-or-her-spirit-and/
https://www.epm.org/resources/2018/May/23/when-does-spirit-leave-body/
